Tutorial: Fundamentals of High-Frequency DC-DC Converters

Advances in CMOS processes and the spread of GaN FETs are pushing the switching frequency of DC-DC converters beyond 10MHz. Such increase in the switching frequency of the converters results in reducing the size of passive components and increasing the system power density. Starting from the fundamentals of DC-DC buck converters, this tutorial will cover topics including loss analysis and control schemes at high frequencies typically above a few MHz. Stateof- the-art design techniques to reduce the switching loss and to drive GaN FETs are also introduced. Finally, topics including recent progress in high-frequency magnetic components and their integration will be covered.